How To Avoid The Minimalist Mindset Trap

How To Avoid The Minimalist Mindset Trap

The minimalist mindset trap?? What the heck is that you might be thinking. Well, this week’s post takes a look at the creative mindset and the different traps we can fall into as creatives.

Let’s begin with the minimalist mindset trap. This is a mode of thinking where you have pared down so much in your life and your work that you have little room left to move. Now, what does that look like in your daily life?

There are different ways this shows up – here are two of the main ones.

There is not enough – is the main catch cry of this particular aspect of the minimalist mindset. This can encompass a whole range of things such as there’s not enough – time, money, support, materials, space, light, inspiration and on and on. There not being enough of something is the perfect excuse to either not do something or fail at it.

The blame game. This goes hand in hand with the not enough syndrome and falls into one of three categories – you either blame yourself, others or circumstances. Of these three the last two are the perfect way to self-sabotage. Why? Because if the blame lands on someone else or outside circumstances, you have no control over it and therefore can’t fix it. If it falls on yourself, you can either let it cripple you or you can say, ‘ there is no blame, only consequences.’ Realizing this you can move on to looking at those consequences and seeing how a different set of actions might lead to a different outcome. Blaming anyone or thing or yourself for a particular outcome is truly a waste of energy. Rather, expand your mindset, allow the ‘failure’ to drive you on to better efforts.

So what do these two ways of thinking have in common? They keep us from our creative birthright. They stop creativity in its tracks. They pare you down, limit your choices and narrow your possibilities and once you are in that minimalist mindset, it is so easy to give up.

How do I know this? Well, you guessed it, I’m very familiar with this beast. We’ve been on intimate terms for a lot of my life. Only, now I recognize when it is creeping up on me and take steps to nip it in the bud before it gets a chance to spread its poisonous pollen all over me.

This Weeks Question: Can you see a minimalist mindset working against you in your creative life?